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The Hive City of Veck
The Hive city of Veck, more commonly referred to as the Goblin Warrens. It is a floating mass of islands held together with great black iron chains and silvery ropes from spun spider silk. Of which the Hive is famous for. Arachnids are the most common beast of burden found within the hive, ranging in usage from living gondolas that traverse between the floating branches to small sleeve dwelling pets resembling a furry fat tomato. Spiders are a way of life in the hive city. Their silk is indispensable from clothing to the strong but light rope that holds the city together. Laws: Most laws within the hive are theocratic in origin. From the commandments of their Spider god. Most notable is that it is forbidden to spill blood within the Hive city. Any who are found to have committed such an offence are eaten by the spider god. All punishments are handled via a fine. If you are unable to pay the fine you are banished to the junkyards below the city until you are able to pay back your debt. As money is hard to come by in the junkyards it tends to be a life long sentence unless someone buys your debt. It should be obvious that this system favors the rich. Money is seen as favor of the gods, so if you have the money to spend on paying the fine you are forgiven not just by society but proven to be forgiven by the gods. Religion: The goblins of Veck worship a great spider god that inhabits the island at the very centre of the hive city. Though the Council would liken the arrangement to a business deal, the lower classes worship the god. Junkyards The junkyards that dwell below the Hive City are constructed from the cast off dreds of silk used in the city proper above. Points to Cover: * The Council ** The city is subdivided into several Great Houses. ** Great Houses are less about blood relation and more a mafia-esq family. Made men become members. ** Great Houses are forced into peace via economic repercussions. Only a small amount of the currency tied to a house is in the house's possession. Most is distributed to other houses. This means that if a house is crippled or destroyed all the currency associated with that house is weakened or lost. ** Inter house politics are typically less financially motivated and more commonly influenced by senses of honor and perceived insults. Lawyers and scripture are the weapons of choice. * Theology ** The Spider God ** The city's place in the God's Blood. *** The main city typically sails just above the abyssal plane. There skies are clearer and the thin blood allows for faster travelling of their gigantic ship. Also allows them to snag likely deserted islands to add to the city. ** The city is crawling with spiders, giant ones, ones that can and do eat people. They are seen as living embodiment of the Spider god's will. If a spider drops down on someone and eats them then that person did something to deserve it. *** However, there is some truth to this as people who break the few laws of the city (namely doing harm until others) are swiftly hunted down by packs of spiders that unerringly seem to find them. ** A better analogy for the relationship between goblins and spiders would be the spiders are a social insect hive and the goblins the aphids they protect and feed upon. * Junkyards ** Recycling Plant ** Counter Weight ** Anchor ** Prison/Banishment * Ecology ** Spider based industry *** Spider pets **** Silk Weavers have been grown to look more akin to fuzzy fat tomatoes than actual spiders. Commonly kept as a very easy to keep pet, one must take care to clean its chitin and fur as it is incapable of doing so itself, very affectionate, but very dumb. ***** Basically the pug of the spider world. Over bred for cuteness to the point of being inferior. Very clumsy for spiders but prized because they throw silk over everything. **** Wolf Spiders have grown to occupy the cultural position of wolves or horses. They make effective mounts, they are deceptively smart and a bit like cats have a hunting instinct not tied to hunger (which does make them chase laser pointers). Like wild dogs in russia there is a large population of feral spiders that have learned to get along with goblins, though it is not uncommon for one or two visitors to go missing. **** Goliaths. Gigantic spiders that act as beasts of burden. They cross highways of silk with gondolas suspended below them. During war they act like mobile guard towers. **** Flier: about the size of a car. Gigantic eyes. Very skilled as jumping. They are named fliers as they travel up and down the gossamer floating silk nets the extended behind the hive city. The silk nets are used to harvest moisture from the air and harvest spores of fungus that blow up from the abyss. **** Angels: ***** Small spiders with iridescent chitin. They have been known to act with a manner of intelligence and direct other spider breeds. It is seen as a sign of divine favor if one of these spiders becomes fixated upon you. ***** They are able to weave silk in a way that temporarily enchants it much like a scroll, though this is not common knowledge and reserved for those select few of whom the spiders have plans for. ***** A select few goblins are taken but not eaten by spiders. They join the theocratic order and an iridescent spider is always seen on their person. They are known as spider wives (both male and female goblins) and are said to be able to speak with the spiders and hear the spider god. **** God: ***** The Spider god is an unusual creature in a setting where the unusual is commonplace. It is a living totem, a living idol. The worship of the goblins has changed it in a large degree. It is distinctly inhuman and thinks alien thoughts. One of the few idols in this setting that have gained enough divine power to take their first steps towards apotheosis (although none know of this idea) * Constructions: ** The Aerie *** For the rich ** The Warren *** For the 'Made Men'. Residences and artisans ** The Hive *** The heart of industry within the city ** The Underhive *** Residential area for Citizens-Without-Rights (not made men) ** The Hullworks *** The steam and smog choked underbelly of the city. If the Hive is the heart, the Hullworks is the smelly squishy bits that gets shit done. They provide the rest of the city with power. ** The Junkers *** Woven from cast of webs from the city proper, forms a large series of nets that lay under the city. Catching the detritus that falls from above. The poorest of the poor classes. They struggle to earn enough to eat for the day. People are banished here until they earn enough to pay the toll back up to the city. *** The Junkyards act as a integral counterweight to keep the city stable. But being so far from the city proper means they are less protected from the eddies in the God's Blood. Isolated pockets of warped reality sometimes causes strange creatures created from scrap metal. *** The junkyards are used as anchores when the hive cities approach large land masses. The junk dwellers act as cheap labor for the sanctioned merchants of the hive. They also buy and/or steal all trash within the host city, bartering petty baubles for scraps that might contain something of worth. *Military **Anti Air: ***Bolas spiders and steam punk siege weapons. Steam cannons and steam arbalests. **Ships: ***No navy presence. Most movement on or off of the hive is via chartered ships from other nations or quickly constructed gondolas. **Infantry: ***Lightly armored spider riders. More riot police than 'army'. *Slavery: **The Hive City of Veck does not recognize slavery. Any person who steps within the city is technically property of the Spider Veck, murder or harming any of Veck's subject is punishable by death. (Being fed to one of the perpetually hungry spiders) **Inadvertantly the Hive City is a refuge for slaves and abolitionists. If a slave can make it into the city they can find their freedom. **Lower class: The poorest of residents are left in the floating junkyards under the city. While they are technically freemen instead of slaves. Unscrupulous enterprising goblins from the city above exploit them for cheap labor and the promise of enough money to buy their way back into the city proper. *Influences: **Much of the city has an industrialzed steampunk look. **Goblins have australian accents **Goblin culture is a mix of cliched mafia tropes mixed with Catholicism. **The Wandering Hive City of Veck wanders because ultimately the Goblins are always lost. They have little to no innate sense of direction but the city always seems to sail to where it needs to go. ***In reality this is due to Veck. The spider god that lives at the centre of the city. The spiders view the goblins as a captive source of food and work to protect them like ants guarding aphids. Veck is able to ply the winds to sail the city and feeds on the belief the goblins have in them.